"10 Years Travel in Greek Art, 1994 - 2004", The P. Gerolymatos Collection
an exhibition of the Gerolymatos Society Club
What is the main theme in the mysterious work of Andreas Nicolaou? Is it the naked human form, which he paints repeatedly and with an almost symbolic intensity in the dim light of his studio? Or is it a ceaseless study of mythical "chiaroscuro" (light-shade), which with so few colours can render to the painting its impetus and narrative depth?
The atmospheric world of Andreas Nicolaou is born out of a complete identification of the lambent nude with the artist's technique and mode of expression. It is in the workings of light and shade that the figures are put together and moulded...
Time without boundaries, an indeterminate location, models with indistinct faces but perfect figures.. The body sinking into an indolent immobility... Anonymous body that can confuse its muscular physicality into the dry skeleton of wooden chairs... Metaphysical body that knows how to float, defying the laws of gravity... And as the body hangs in air like an acrobat, so chiaroscuro speaks its ambiguous language of insinuation, of allusion and of sensuality. With nebulous lightness it converts reality to another dimension where outline does not imprison shape but softens itself to invite the imagination in. Cryptic mists of chiaroscuro tone down the clear-cut lines allowing us to dream... narrative chiaroscuro guides the glance to where it "should" go: to the pale nude model... Generous chiaroscuro bestows feelings of infinity imperceptibly protecting the indeterminate pictorial plane... By means of his magic filter, the bodies - dressed only in their own light - acquire a visionary stature...
Marina Kanakaki
Art Critic